PRESS STATEMENT – PRESS STATEMENT – PRESS STATEMENT

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SDLP MLA BURNS: WELCOMES COMMUNITY FUND

South Antrim MLA Thomas Burns has criticised major oil companies for making record profits at a time when people are being forced to choose between eating and heating.

Mr Burns said:

“In the first three months of this year BP’s profit soared by a staggering 63% to over 7 billion dollars. They’re pumping money out of people more quickly than they’re pumping oil out of the ground. That is totally unacceptable.

"I meet people in my constituency office and on the streets of Antrim every day who can’t afford a minimum oil fill of 500 litres because the price has doubled in the last two years. At the minute the good weather is easing the pressure but that’s not going to last. People are extremely concerned about what will happen next winter if the prices continue to rise.

"The SDLP is calling on Nigel Dodds, the Minister with responsibility for energy, to accelerate work on developing local renewable energy sources. The Executive also needs to pull up its sleeves and drive the energy efficiency agenda forward.

"Why should these major companies make so much money while so many people cannot afford to heat their homes? It’s immoral and unjust. And the situation will only get worse for ordinary households as speculators stock up on oil reserves.

"It’s time we made a major shift away from our total reliance on fossil fuels. There is no reason why we can not have publicly, co-operatively or locally owned wind farms or use bio-mass units to supply heat and power to people.

“These technologies are not new, and in some countries they are the norm. We should be investing in large scale renewable energy research projects into tidal energy in partnership with the Republic of Ireland and Scotland.

“We have no other choice if we want to get out of the clutches of powerful oil companies and put power back where it belongs, into the hands of the people.

"We have the ability to do this now, so the question for the Minister is, why aren't we?"
 

ENDS